This little piggy went to market

As I left Les' house this morning, a woman just struck up a conversation with me on the way down to Brixton station. It wasn't about much in particular but she was friendly and it put a smile on my face as I headed into Camden Markets. Crissi warned me that it's incredibly busy there in Summer, but thankfully it wasn't too bad. Most of the stalls seem to be selling t-shirts, clothes, bags, funky crafts, souvenirs and food. It was a pretty happening place, with a few old school punks around, a whole stack of youngsters and even young families with prams.

There was another Music and Video Exchange at Camden so I came out with a whole raft of CDs for just £13. That store is disturbingly excellent, especially at this point in time when the market for CD singles is crashing, and I can get a whole lot of them for really cheap prices. Bear in mind too that these CDs are of particular interest for me because the majority of these singles were never released in Australia because people in Australia tend to have rubbish taste in music. After the market I had a quick walk around the rest of Camden Town and had lunch in Subway, where the old Caribbean guy I ended up sitting next to was coaxing a young guy into buying him a cup of tea. He got his tea eventually, and he was mostly harmless, though sometimes he'd pipe up intoning, "I gots no one, I gots nothing". Despite his lack of meaningful possessions he seemed in pretty good spirits.

Realising that Old Spitalfields Markets had been left off my itinerary on Thursday, I thought I should catch up and find it. Getting off at Old Street (which isn't the closest station, but one that was on my map) I got a little disoriented until a woman at the bus stop was able to show me where we were. Then it was off through the streets of Hackney on the way to the markets. Alas, part of the markets were closed for renovations and I was unable to find the Kinetica Museum which was half the reason I went there. Presumably Kinetica was hidden amongst the redevelopments. The rest of that place was alright but it's obviously been made a bit more posh than it used to be and wasn't really very interesting - it came across as a little sterile.

Now here's something which someone might call sterile, but that I thought was pretty cool. It's a Tesco self-service machine. Basically, you press a button to start and then scan your goods and pop them in a bag, or on the shelf to the left. Once finished, you can pay via card, or do what I did and pay by cash. Thankfully, I only wanted some Tesco's Belgian chocolate milk so that streamlined the process somewhat and I managed to avoid any queues.

I did some more wandering out that end of town, which seemed to be the "business district" of London which was very quiet on account of it being a Saturday. I saw the notorious St. Mary Axe a.k.a. the Gherkin as pictured here (sorry - you'll have to tilt your head to the left to see it). Realising I was a fair way from anything particularly interesting I boarded a train at Aldgate over to Kings Cross, so I could see what it was like. Pet Shop Boys did a song about Kings Cross so I thought it would add to my experience of the song to have a look myself. I've heard it's a pretty dodgy area, but as I was there in the "daylight hours", it wasn't too bad. I had a little giggle there because I realised that after having seen the abominable parts of Glasgow, nothing else would probably ever be "too bad" again. From Kings Cross I could a bus into town, and then caught the Tube back out to Brixton. I had originally planned on going indie clubbing that night but I couldn't be bothered dealing with late night transport so I went indie pubbing instead. The Prince Albert, on Coldharbour Lane, is a nice little pub where I was happy to slowly imbibe a few pints whilst listening to the DJ playing a mix of indie, old school punk, remixes and reggae. Part way through I ducked out for dinner at Speedy Noodle which serves Asian noodle dishes at Australian prices. A good night, and a good night's sleep with.... no coughing! Hurrah! All I've got now is a sore throat and occasional headache, as I couldn't possibly be ailment free on this trip, could I?

Out and about

Last night we went down to Jamm to see Bridport Dagger playing live. One member of the band, Arran, also plays in Abdoujaparov. They were easily the best of the bands on offer and musically were equal parts Joy Division and Nick Cave along with a few other dark elements. Generally unimpressed by the quality of the other bands, Les and I went home and I went to sleep. After a some toast, tea and a nice chat I set off into town to catch up with my friend Michael who used to work at Medibank. We had a couple of pints and lunch over a couple of different traditional English establishments as we talked about various aspects of travelling and his rough plans for the next year or two in London. Alas, I forgot to take my camera out today, but Michael had his so hopefully he can e-mail me a picture or two. I had sausages, mashed potato and peas in (yes, in) a giant flat Yorkshire Pudding. Very filling and very tasty, though the two pints had given a little bit of a headache. I revisited the Music and Video Exchange on Berwick Street, picked up a couple more specials and then, in the absence of anything on the itinerary I commenced random perambulation along some different streets in a rough south-easterly direction before getting on a train at Charing Cross back to Brixton, via Stockwell. As I typed this blog entry, I was listening to an audio recording of the Glasgow show (which is to be used on the upcoming DVD) and it sounded chipper. Not sure if anything's happening tonight, but whether it does or doesn't, I could do with a bit of a rest. So that's what I'll do! Finally, here's a picture of Les' three cats...

Drizzle

Today it drizzled lightly from the moment we left the house until I got back to Chateau Fruitbat. The day started with Les taking me on a slightly more extended tour of Brixton, which as well as taking me past the Post Office again for another "post office run" also included a comprehensive tour of the exotic Brixton Markets and a visit to Brixton Academy where Carter USM are playing live on November 2nd. As you can see from the picture, LCD Soundsystem just played there the other night and apparently it was a top notch gig. Whilst at the Post Office I managed to post a couple of postcards (just one to go).

Our trip rounded off at Rosie's, a little cafe in amongst the markets which Les sometimes uses as an offsite meeting room. We had coffee there and had a lovely chat about Brixton, London, Melbourne, family trees and all other manner of subjects. It was a nice little place with a whole lot of continental foods on offer, and the girl who worked there was very friendly. All too often people working here in London seem a little glum and don't smile, so it was a pleasant change. After Rosie's we went our separate ways, and I headed down to the tube station to trek out to Bethnal Green, home of the Friends Of The Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)'s London Buddhist Centre.
First stop was Wild Cherry, a small vegetarian restaurant which is a FWBO Right Livelihood business. Basically a Right Livelihood business is a co-operative which aims to help Buddhists who work there pay the bills, but also make sure that their work-life is in some way spiritual, and does not cause harm to others. The concept hasn't really taken off much in Australia, but I like the idea. As you can see here, I got the Arabic Casserole, and a mug of hot Apple and Cinnamon drink, both of which were most amenable. The hot drink felt like it was doing wonders for my throat and my chest. I wouldn't mind another one right now actually!

Wild Cherry is right next door to the actual London Buddhist Centre which is the spiritual home of the FWBO. I went in and it's quite a nice little place with a small bookshop, a couple of meeting rooms and a really nice shrine room, as pictured here. That Buddha rupa is pretty big too... certainly larger than life. The man staffing the bookshop was also an amenable fellow who was up for a little bit of a chat about my trip (he was a Carter fan once back in the day) and about the FWBO centres in Melbourne, plus here in London. After getting some photos of the garden area, I set off in the drizzle through the heart of Bethnal Green where there was a street market going on.
Eventually I got to Brick Lane which is a funky little strip. Just off Brick Lane is the famous Rough Trade Records. I had a good look around but left with only a couple of £2 CDs (Saloon and Broken Spindles) from the bargain bin. A little bit of trivia for you... Rough Trade also owns a record label by the same name and a couple of early Carter albums actually came out on Rough Trade Records prior to them being taken on by EMI/Chrysalis. Trekking along then towards Old Street, in search of Smallfish Records, only to find that the location I had for the shop is currently bordered up and says "For Lease". Evidently, I got there a little late! With a bit of spare time on my hands I boarded a train to Oxford Circus in search of Hamleys. One way to explain Hamleys is to imagine a Toys 'R' Us store... replace a lot of the American crap with quality English merchandise, then cut the store up into 6 segments, stack them on top of each other, and then hang crazy stuff all over the place. I was happy in amongst the crowds but I could see some people were getting a bit overwhelmed by it all. It must be madness in there in the lead up to Christmas. All that stock however, and nothing really appropriate for Bennett. I kept on walking to Green Park station and then came back to Brixton. Whilst Hamley's couldn't give me a suitable present for Bennett, the wonder of good old Woolworths shone through and I found Bennett a nifty little Charlie and Lola felt set (a bit like fuzzy felt) which is very flat, so it should fit in the suitcase quite nicely. Back now at Les' with a hot cup of cold weather tea, to fix me up after such a drizzly day. My original plans for tonight were to catch up with Ricardo Autobahn and go see Robots In Disguise and We Start Fires performing live, but he's having car issues and I suspect I won't get a chance to see him before I go. Les has told me about another band playing live within walking distance from the house, so it sounds like a good plan to me. Having lots of fun in London, though I can't believe I've only been here for two days.

Some photos from London

Here's a mix of photos for you... including:

* Les on set at Phoenix FM in Brentwood, Essex

* Donovan and David Lynch live at University of London - this was really good. Donovan's set included hits like Season Of The Witch, Hurdy Gurdy Man, Colours, Catch The Wind, Mellow Yellow, Universal Soldier as well as some lesser known tracks like Sunny Goodge Street, Isle Of Islay, and a song I've never actually heard before.

* The standard photo at Piccadilly Circus which everyone takes

* Some music shops I went to today, and amazingly managed to spend less than £50

* The Ritzy... as name-checked in my favourite Carter song, "And God Created Brixton"









And for anyone who is interested, this is what Les and I played on the radio. My selections have been bolded...

1. Fruity On The Radio
2. 59th St Bridge Song - Patrick & Eugene
3. Goodbye Cruel World - Ikki
4. Nico Man - Gang Gang Dance
5. (In Your Own Words) Chernobyl - (We Are) Performance
6. How Are You - Bombay Bicycle Club
7. Alternate Alf Garnett - Here Comes Trouble (this is actually one of my songs i recorded myself, but someone else requested it!)
8. The Perfect Crime #2 -The Decemberists
9. Ooh (All I Wanted) - Ooberon
10. I Can't Bring The Time Back Misty's Big Adventure
11. Pizza Boy - Jim Bob
12. Anthem For The Modern Artist - Spray
13. Think Fast - Bolt Action Five
14. I Feel It - Lorraine
15. Whip It - Devo
16. Knots - Pete & The Pirates
17. All The Rage - The Royal We
18. White No Sugar - Clint Boon Experience
19. Sixteen - The Indelicates
20. The Day That Thatcher Dies - Hefner
21. Sunday Morning - The Hussy's
22. Xerox - Exile Inside
23. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
24. Political Prisoners - Insurge
25. Battling The Bottle (Fighting the Bulge) - Jim Bob
26. Hold Music - Architecture In Helsinki
27. Temple Head - Transglobal Underground
28. Heaven's At The Bottom Of This Glass - Boo Radleys
29. Alcohol - CSS

Greetings from London

Scott dropped me off at the airport the following morning for my flight down to Heathrow. I was very tired but in good spirits as I arrived at Heathrow and made my way onto the Tube where I got to christen my Oyster Card. I found my way out to Brixton and that place is so unique, very bustling. I'd be guessing that around half the people there are West Indian, and the whole place has an electric vibe to it. Got to Les' place courtesy of the precision of Google Maps and got to meet Crissi who is lovely, and then I started loading songs for Fruity On The Radio onto his laptop, while he finished off some postal orders - his online shop is going great guns selling merchandise and CDs around all the excitement of the two live shows. Les and Crissi's place is brilliant and they make such an excellent couple together. There's Carter memorabilia and photos all over the place. The room that I'm sleeping in has a lot of stuff too, as well as a lot of the merchandise which is getting shipped out a great rate because of the excitement surrounding the two Carter concerts.

We went down the street to do the "post office run" much to the disgruntlement of the woman at the post office who had to sort out a whole swag of t-shirts and mugs. We went off for a meal of bacon, eggs and toast (before getting shooed out because they wanted to close at 5), and then Les gave me a brief tour of Brixton, including the place where the riots kicked off in '95. A little later we set off on a long journey, with plenty of interchanges, out to Essex for the radio show. On the way, I filled out a few postcards for people too young or old to appreciate that a blog is far more informative and interesting than a postcard. So if you're reading this, chances are I'm very proud of your technological prowess and that you don't need a postcard! As for the others, I'd better find a post office so I can send there's off.

I was still coughing a lot when we arrived at the Phoenix FM HQ, but thankfully managed to get through the show without coughing or spluttering once. I got to play quite a few songs and really enjoyed every minute of it. In time, the show will appear as a podcast and I'll put it on line as a link once it's done. Long sleepy trip back, so instead of going back to Brixton via the train, Les recommended we catch the number 35 double-decker out to Brixton. The bus arrived within a couple of minutes and just like Baxendale, we went top deck... right at the front. I got a great view of London Bridge, inner London and other parts of the city that I was unlikely to see otherwise because I'm generally travelling via the tube. When I got back to Les' place I was really tired.

Crissi is a herbalist, so she did me a couple of concoctions to help with my cough, chest and general shabbiness. One was a warm elderberry drink, and once was a tea with sage, basil, peppermint and other goodies in it. I think it helped a bit, because the drinks, combined with a menagerie of syrups, tablets, rubs and inhalers helped me to get a decent nights sleep even though I was still coughing frequently when lying down. Sometimes I feel like a mobile pharmacy.

This morning I set out on the tube to the music shop district in Soho. I managed to spend five or so hours there scouring the music shops picking up some goodies. In fact, I made better progress than originally expected so I now find myself possibly with a bit more free time on Friday, when I plan to catch up with my friend Michael who used to work at Medibank. After that I ambled off to Piccadilly Circus, then through Leicester Square and I'm going to keep going off in the general direction of the University of London for tonight's event (concert isn't quite the right word) featuring David Lynch, Donovan and some other guy. It's an awareness raiser for the idea of using meditation in schools so that modern kids can learn to chill the hell out, not get so angry, not be so bad at school, and actually set themselves up to be decent human beings. The form of meditation they promote isn't Buddhist, but from what I know about it to date, I don't really see anything "unBuddhist" about it. One stop on the way to the University is here... an Internet Cafe. Hence the absence of any photos at this point in time. I'll pop some online when I get some free time at Les's place, in the meantime it's just been nice to have a sit in somewhere that's warm. The Victoria line tube to Brixton is closing a little early tonight, so hopefully tonight's proceedings don't drag on... they shouldn't, and thankfully it starts nice and early at 7:30pm.

Last hours in Edinburgh (so tired)

It's 5am right now and I've had a terrible sleep, maybe gotten an hour at most. My chesty cough and asthma symptoms have gone for the time being... only to be replaced by a persistent dry cough. Dry coughs are always more annoying simply for the fact they seem so utterly pointless. At least you can understand the functional purpose of a chesty cough, but a dry cough just does your head in... especially when it only happens when you're lying down. Sitting here, everything's fine. Lie down and then it's cough, cough, cough. I'm looking forward to buying some dry cough syrup and some Vicks Vaporub, or whatever the local equivalent is. Oh to be in the 24-hour Tesco's right now.

Last night I also took some photos of the Hibernian FC tattoos that Alan and Scott's brother Neil have got.

Here's a picture of them with the dog, Holly.

Finally, got the misfortune of heading to Glasgow any time soon? Try this Glasgow Survival Trainer to see if you'll be able to get in and out without getting punched in the face.

http://www.glasgowsurvival.co.uk/toys/glaSurvivalGame.html

Apparently one member of the Carter forum wasn't so lucky.

P.S. to Mum - No good telling Stephanie all these things... she's just as far away from me as you are. E-mail me on shravaka@gmail.com if you need to.

Music shopping in Edinburgh

Today was really good day. Early to rise and then off on the bus with Scott to travel from Gorebridge to Edinburgh. This gentleman here was enjoying his morning paper and the page 3 girl. We departed the bus at the edge of town and got an egg and bacon roll with "brown sauce", the exact contents of which are a bit of a mystery, but it's a damn tasty combination not miles away from HP sauce or a regular BBQ sauce. Whilst that little food outlet was open, the music shops were generally closed because the lazy blighters didn't fancy getting up and opening their stores until 11am, so we thought we'd have better luck heading into the heart of Edinburgh. We tracked down our first music shop called Avalanche Records, which was probably the equal best of the day. I picked up a copy of the CSS album for £8, a Spiritualized one for £2, a freebie Avalanche button badge and a freebie CD of unsigned Edinburgh bands. We kept walking through lots of lovely places, from which I got to see my first ever squirrel and Edinburgh castle. Edinburgh really is a lovely place - it's second on my list of cities I'd be happy to live in now, overtaking Brisbane but still not as much as Melbourne.

I need something to warm my chest so we popped into Starbucks for a coffee which wasn't cheap, but the extra shot of coffee was cheap, and it was a nice way to warm up on a cool Edinburgh day. Walking along we got to HMV where I bought the latest CDs from Dragonette and We Start Fires for £10 a-piece and I picked up a nice hardback pictorial book of Edinburgh for £6. Virgin Records wasn't much chop, but Fopp was a top little shop just as good as Avalanche and I bought myself the Ian Curtis biography Touching From A Distance for £3 as well as Ooberman's Lost Tapes for £10 and Embrace's This New Day for £3. We walked the long way around Edinburgh, several miles surely, and checked out a few more music shops but unfortunately the standard wasn't that great and apparently many have closed down in recent years because of the pressure of HMV and the decline in the 2nd hand CD market attributable to legal and illegal downloading of tunes from the Internet. One that was still there was Unknown Pleasures, named after Joy Division's first album but it wasn't of much interest to be honest. Somewhere along the way we stopped for lunch and I got the crumbed cod, with chips, peas and an Irn Bru. I added plenty of salt, vinegar, lemon and more brown sauce to turn it into a fully quality lunch.

I eventually popped back into Avalanche to buy Scott a copy of the new Carter USM 2CD anthology as a thank you for taking me to the gig, for driving me around, and for taking these few days off work to show me the sights and sounds of Edinburgh. All in all, it was a good way to see Edinburgh without looking like a tourist. I don't much fancy the idea of tourist buses and stuff because I'd much rather experience a city in the way the locals would experience it rather than see some kind of sanitized collection of tourist attractions and gift shops.

Tonight I'm buying pizza for dinner for Scott's family as a bit of a thank you for having me, they've all been great. On the way I'll pop into Tesco's and get Stephanie some miscellaneous confectionary to go with the Caramac bar I picked up at some random newsagent. Tomorrow it's off to Brixton to visit Les and for my radio debut tomorrow night. Wish me luck in clearing this chest infection... I'm slowly becoming more optimistic about it.